Incoming artillery rounds landed inside the city, and pro-Gadhafi tanks rolled into the town firing rounds, witnesses said. Plumes of smoke rose in Benghazi as civilians said buildings came under small arms fire and fled their homes in fear of a full-blown assault there.
A fighter jet plummeted from the sky, burst into flames, and nose-dived to the ground. An opposition fighter said the plane belonged to the rebels and was dispatched to try to stop forces supporting Gadhafi from entering Benghazi -- the heart of the opposition.
CNN could not independently confirm who the plane belonged to.
Gadhafi issues defiant warning
Explosions, smoke reported in Benghazi
Warplane falls from sky
Fighting continues in Adjabiya
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"I have all the Libyan people with me and I'm prepared to die. And they are prepared to die for me. Men, women and even children," Gadhafi said in a letter addressed to President Barack Obama and read to reporters by a government spokesman in Tripoli on Saturday.
Fighting has raged in Libya over the last day despite the government's announcement of an "immediate" cease-fire on Friday.
The declaration -- which came hours after a U.N. Security Council resolution authorized the use of force, including a no-fly zone, to protect Libyan civilians -- was seen by rebels as simply a move to buy itself time.
Gadhafi -- in separate letter addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- called the U.N. moves "invalid" because the resolution does not permit intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
"Libya is not yours. Libya is for all Libyans," said the letter, also read by the spokesman. "You will regret it if you take a step toward intervening in our internal affairs."
"It is not your country. We could never and would never fire one bullet against our people," the letter said.
Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and freedom and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. It's a conflict spurred by anti-government protest and resulting regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous."
But Gadhafi defended his actions in his note to Obama. He said his opponents are from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group's North African wing, and asked Obama what he would do if such an armed movement controlled American cities.
"Tell me, how would you behave so I could follow your example?"
In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted an international summit to discuss the crisis. Members of the Arab League, the president of the European Council and representatives of states that support the implementation of the U.N. resolution were invited.
After the U.N. Security Council authorized its resolution, countries, such as Britain, Canada and France, announced military planning and preparations.
As talk emerged in Europe of speedy military action against Gadhafi's regime, Obama on Friday warned Gadhafi to pull back from several besieged cities or face military consequences. He also said power and water must be restored to several cities.
If Gadhafi doesn't comply, the U.N. resolution will be imposed through military action, the president said.
"These terms are not negotiable," Obama said.
The U.N. resolution, while not authorizing such a move, does not preclude the United States from arming rebels, said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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